On May 19, President Trump officially announced his intent to nominate Callista Gingrich, the to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy. The WH released the following brief bio:

Callista L. Gingrich of Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See. Ms. Gingrich has been the President and CEO of Gingrich Productions, a multimedia production and consulting company in Arlington, Virginia, since 2007. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling “Ellis the Elephant” children’s series and co-author of “Rediscovering God in America.” Ms. Gingrich also produces and hosts historical and public policy documentary films. She served as a congressional aide in the U.S. House of Representatives and is President of The Gingrich Foundation, which supports charitable causes. Ms. Gingrich has sung for two decades with the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. She earned a BA cum laude from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

According to history.state.gov, the United States maintained a presence in Rome throughout the nineteenth century. The United States at different times had a Minister to the Papal States, Minister to the Pontifical States, and finally, a Minister to Rome from 1848 until Kingdom of Italy conquered Rome in 1870. Throughout much of the twentieth century, successive U.S. Presidents sent a Personal Representative to the Holy See, the diplomatic representative of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope with its headquarters in Vatican City.

The United States and the Holy See established diplomatic relations by agreement between President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II on January 10, 1984, when William A. Wilson presented his credentials to the Pope, elevating his position from Personal Representative of the President to U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.

Callista Gingrich, the wife of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is widely reported as the expected nominee to be the next ambassador to the Vatican. No official announcement has been made as of this writing. President Trump is scheduled to leave this week for his first trip overseas with stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, The Vatican, Belgium, and Italy (May 26-27) for the 43rd G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily.